Student Wage Guidelines - Effective July 1, 2023

As you are likely aware, smoke from wildfires in eastern Canada is continuing to spread and causing poor air quality across much of the eastern U.S., including on UMBC's campus and in surrounding areas.

Extended exposure to such poor air quality can be unhealthy for everyone and more problematic for those with breathing difficulties. For these reasons we advise minimizing or canceling outdoor activities. Supervisors should consider allowing staff to work remotely if breathing difficulties are a concern.

UMBC's Environmental Safety and Health as well as Facilities staff are monitoring conditions within buildings on campus, as well as reducing the amount of outside air that is being brought into our facilities.

You can learn more and see current air quality conditions on UMBC's Office of Sustainability website.

Vice President for Administration and Finance Kathy L. Dettloff
Sr. Associate Vice President for Administrative Services Lenn Caron, P.E.

As you are likely aware, smoke from wildfires in eastern Canada is continuing to spread and causing poor air quality across much of the eastern U.S., including on UMBC's campus and in surrounding areas.

Extended exposure to such poor air quality can be unhealthy for everyone and more problematic for those with breathing difficulties. For these reasons we advise minimizing or canceling outdoor activities. Supervisors should consider allowing staff to work remotely if breathing difficulties are a concern.

UMBC's Environmental Safety and Health as well as Facilities staff are monitoring conditions within buildings on campus, as well as reducing the amount of outside air that is being brought into our facilities.

You can learn more and see current air quality conditions on UMBC's Office of Sustainability website.

Vice President for Administration and Finance Kathy L. Dettloff
Sr. Associate Vice President for Administrative Services Lenn Caron, P.E.

UMBC Facilities Management is currently in the process of replacing the roof at the Biology building. This work will impact the pedestrian route at the academic walkway, between Chemistry and Biology. The impacts will occur between June 5^th, 2023 and August 18, 2023. Accessible routes through the area will be maintained for the duration of the work. An accessible path through the Biology building will be available weekdays 7 AM - 11 PM. Adjacent building entrances will remain open and deliveries can continue without modifications. Signage will be posted to guide the campus community around the area. Please see attached graphic which illustrates the changes.

The walkway will be open for emergency vehicles as needed.

Work to restore the walkway will be completed upon completion of the construction work.

Accessibility is part of the design process, and we work in partnership with Accessibility and Disability Services which supports faculty, staff, students and visitors with disabilities. If you have a concern about accessibility or want to inquire about a disability-based accommodation, please do so through their website.

Thank you for your patience as we work to maintain and enhance the UMBC campus.

For more updates on summer construction, please follow Facilities Management on myUMBC.

Facilities Management

A new electrical feeder, which will improve reliability for the campus, is currently being installed by Baltimore Gas and Electric. The new feeder line, from the Pumphrey substation, will enter the campus from the east along Poplar Avenue. The new feeder line will carry 34KV to replace one of the two lines fed from the Frederick Road substation to the west. The work includes installation of twelve manholes, two concrete encased bends, two six-inch conduits for electric power, and one two-inch conduit for telecom lines through the process of directional boring. Directional boring will significantly decrease the impact to campus during the feeder installation. 

The work began on May 24, 2023 along Shelbourne Road and will continue on-campus through December, 2023. The work most impactful to campus operations will be completed before the fall 2023 semester. Please see graphic for detailed schedule information.

When Natalie Murray ’22, biological sciences, Thomas Azari ’22, political science, and Lauren Wotring ’22, political science, graduated last spring, they didn’t expect to be returning to UMBC so soon. These recent alums—all members of the 2021 National Mock Trial Championship team—were making inroads in the next stages of their careers, but didn’t hesitate to pick up the phone when the UMBC Mock Trial team called.

Together they took on the leadership of UMBC’s B team, guiding the group—composed mostly of first-year students—to the Opening Round Championship Series (ORCS) in March 2023 and saw B team co-captain Fadil Adeite ’26, media and communication studies, and Anna Kim ’26, biochemistry and psychology, win all-National attorney awards. 

Coming back to pay it forward

Natalie Murray was the first to rejoin the UMBC Mock Trial team as a coach. She was hesitant initially. A full-time veterinary assistant position at the Elkridge Animal Hospital meant long days, so long she sometimes showed up to practice in her scrubs after a 12-hour shift.

When Murray agreed to coach, she envisioned having a minor position, yet she ended the season as the B team’s head coach. “Once I started working with them, and I saw how driven and incredible they were, I could not help but throw myself way more into it than I had planned,” said Murray.

The students were aware of the coaches’ investment. “To see the three coaches come back after leaving and dedicate so much time and effort—and gas money—to the team was inspiring, and it really motivated us as competitors to give even more,” said co-captain Adeite.

The team became a source of joy for Murray, brightening her stressful days and making the logistics of coordinating coaching worth it. It helped that she could rely on former teammates to share the load.

Thomas Azari navigated his job in the U.S. Department of State’s Department of Human Rights and Labor, studying for the LSAT, and applying to law school while coaching. Lauren Wotring also made time to coach the B team while working at a D.C. law firm as an intellectual property legal assistant and prepping for law school.

Wotring said the students made the whole experience so special. “I realized how much the students meant to me and how amazing they are and how willing they were to learn,” said Wotring, who realized she wants to keep coaching next year.

Alumni coaching legacy

The Mock Trial team has always had dedicated coaches. The B team trio cites current head coach Ben Garmoe ’13, political science,and assistant coach Whitney Wilder as some coaches who made their mock trial experience.

Azari knew he had to return as a coach after the impact his coaches had on him and his Nationals-winning team.“If not for Ben, we wouldn’t have had any of the success we have now,” he said. “I kind of learned from that and was like, ‘Ben is doing all this work. I have to too.’”

Murray, Azari, and Wotring’s investment in the students took many forms. Wotring spoke to many about the dangers of perfectionism. Murray ensured they were having fun while being competitive. Azari lent out ties and showed them how to stay positive even after a loss. All three drove students to competitions, helped pay for food, and were always a text away.

The students couldn’t have been more thankful. At the end of the season, the alumni coaches received cards from the team with notes from each student. Kim emailed each of them, telling them how they impacted her.

“They taught us how to be better competitors, how to work better as a team, how to get places on time, but mostly how to be confident and proud of ourselves,” said Kim.

“Whenever anyone felt down about themselves, their performance, or not understanding, they were right there to lift us up, guide us, and make us all feel heard,” said B team co-captain Alysha Carter ’26, political science.

Champion volunteers

The trio’s willingness to turn around so quickly after graduation and invest their time in the next generation of UMBC Mock Trial competitors means a lot to Garmoe. “Thomas, Natalie, and Lauren are all national champions and highly decorated competitors,” said Garmoe. “But even more importantly, they are wonderful people and stellar role models for our young students.”

Murray sees a direct correlation between her coaching experience now and the support she received as a Mock Trial participant. Her fond memories of the organization, said Murray, are rooted in the genuine care she felt from her coaches and teammates. “To be part of that equation, and thinking that maybe one day down the line some of these students will do the same thing, they’ll graduate and they’ll want to coach, has been a really fun thought to have.”

By Morgan Casey ’22